National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
November 2015
Hall of Fame Names Seven New Inductees. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame has chosen seven pioneers to join the Hall as part of the Class of 2015. They are: freestyle skiing world champions Genia Fuller and Bob Salerno; David Ingemie, president and CEO of Snowsports Industries America (SIA); former Skiing magazine publisher Henry Kaiser; three-time Olympic snowboarder Chris Klug; sit skiing innovator Jim Martinson; and the late Edgar Stern, who developed Deer Valley Resort. More. First Tracks!! Ed. Note: Dave Ingemie was at the 2012 NSCF Annual Meeting at Telluride. He is retiring from SIA in January. SAM
Former NSAA Communications Chief Troy Hawks Settles In at Sunlight. Colorado’s Sunlight Mountain Resort has named Troy Hawks, former communications manager at the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), as its new marketing and sales director. Most recently Hawks worked two years at Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) in the areas of marketing communications and managing the passport department that processes and distributes more than 20,000 child ski passes annually. More. First Tracks!! Ed. Note: Troy Hawks was at the 2012 NSCF Annual Meeting at Telluride.
Western Resorts Rush To Ban Camera Drones As Their Popularity Rises. Trying to get ahead of the popularity of videoing from remote-controlled drones, many Western resorts have banned their use – citing safety issues and both FAA and U.S. Forest Service concerns. More. SnoCountry
Drone Video Service Set to Launch at Winter Park, Copper Mountain. Cape Productions announces drone video service at nine ski resorts, but still waiting for FAA OK. A California start-up with $10 million in venture capital funding has partnered with Copper Mountain and Winter Park ski areas to offer drone video services this season. Cape Productions announced nine resorts — including Copper and Winter Park — as partners in the company’s plan to deliver drone-captured video to ski resort visitors. More. Denver Post via Google Alerts
Battle of the Drones Heats up on the Slopes. As the use of recreational unmanned aerial vehicles, a.k.a. “drones” to film video is rapidly increasing in popularity, ski resorts — and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — are scrambling to determine how to deal with this rapidly emerging new technology on the slopes. More. First Tracks!!
Ski Bolivia? It’s been some time now since the rope tow has run on the glacier at Chacaltaya ski area in Bolivia. What was once the country’s only lift-served skiing, as well as the second-closest ski area to the equator (after only the incredibly obscure Maoke in Indonesia), could soon be replaced by a new development on 19,262-foot La Mururata in Bolivia’s Cordillera Real. More. First Tracks!!
Plans for Indoor Skiing in Central Florida Fall Through. Xero Gravity Action Sports said this week that their plan to construct a $309 million, 14-story tall skiing, surfing and snow tubing venue, skateboard and BMX park, and indoor snowball fight center, along with a 250-room Hyatt hotel with rooftop pool and bar, hinged on acquiring land along US-192 east of Celebration, and that deal has fallen though. More. First Tracks!!
The Ultimate Guide to What’s New at Ski Areas in 2015-2016. There’s a lot going on in ski country for the 2015-2016 season. There are new lifts, replacement lifts, new trails, lodges being remodeled, and brand new facilities. There’s even a brand new ski resort opening for the first time. Curbed Ski tracked the changes down and put them in a map. Here is the ultimate guide to what’s new at North American ski areas in 2015-2016. More. Curbed Ski
What’s New in Tahoe. Boasting more ski resorts in close proximity to one another than any other U.S. winter destination, and the only slope-side location offering 24/7 Vegas-style nightlife and entertainment, Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts will be upping the ante this winter with on-mountain upgrades, extensive lake-wide developments, new VIP experiences, new non-stop flights and the most promising El Niño weather scenario seen in the last half century. More.
What’s New in Idaho This Ski Season. Idaho is home to 18 ski areas offering everything from world-class resorts with beautifully groomed runs and glades of feather-light powder for all skiing and boarding abilities, to small community ski areas for sliding on a budget. Collectively with more than 28,000 leg-burning vertical feet, 20,000 skiable acres and a wide array of Nordic trails, terrain parks, cat ski operations, heli-ski opportunities and tubing hills, Idaho has become a hub for skiers and boarders seeking blue skies, fresh powder and few crowds. More. First Tracks!!
Buck Hill Sold. There aren’t many 300-vertical foot ski hills with a world-famous legacy, but after having developed ski racers like Lindsey Vonn and Kristina Koznick, Buck Hill is one of them. The Stone family, which has operated these 100 acres since its inception in 1954, has sold Buck Hill to new owners with big plans. More. First Tracks!!
Oregon Couple Buys Soldier Mountain (ID) Resort for $149,000. Out of over 2,000 offers, a Bend, Ore. couple are now the proud owners of an Idaho ski resort, for the unheard-of sum of $149,000. The non-profit that has been running Soldier Mountain since it was donated to them by actor Bruce Willis in 2012 felt that Matt and Diane McFerran were the best candidates to continue the Soldier Mountain tradition. It was sold for only the amount of debt carried by the non-profit. More. First Tracks!!
New Lift, Runs and Lodge at Crystal Mountain. Michigan’s Crystal Mountain is investing $11 million to debut a new chairlift, new ski runs and an addition to overnight lodging. Construction on the new Backyard triple chairlift and eight new ski runs is already underway, with completion anticipated in time for the 2015-16 ski and ride season. More. First Tracks!!
Mountain High Joins Forces with Snow Valley in Southern California. Two more ski areas in Southern California are teaming up. Mountain High in Wrightwood, and Snow Valley in Running Springs are offering pass holders free skiing this winter at the other’s resort, good for three visits per season. More. First Tracks!!
SilverStar Partners with Whistler Blackcomb. SilverStar My1Pass season passholders are receiving an unexpected and welcome perk with a recently announced partnership between SilverStar Mountain Resort and Whistler Blackcomb. The new benefit gets SilverStar winter 2015-16 alpine season passholders a 25 per cent discount on single-day and multi-day tickets at Whistler Blackcomb with no blackout dates. More. First Tracks!!
Gore Adds New Runs, New Snowmaking and Lodge Improvements. The marketing slogan for Upstate New York’s Gore Mountain ski center the past few years has been, “More Gore.” This season, there truly will be More Gore, in the form of three new trails, more snowmaking, and a more welcoming base lodge. More. First Tracks!!
Hunter Mountain Invests Another $1.2 Million in Automated Snowmaking. With over 1,100 snow guns, Hunter Mountain already has one of the most powerful snowmaking systems anywhere. This summer, the ski area in New York State’s Catskill Mountains invested another $1.2 million in snowmaking, with 17 new guns on the popular Hellgate trail alone. More.
Jiminy Peak Solar Partnership Makes Resort Greener. The 12-acre installation located near the base Jiminy Peak encompasses 7,500 solarpanels, making it the largest of its kind in the Northeast. The solar panels can produce 2.3 megawatts; combined with the resort’s 1.5 MW wind turbine, 75 kW cogeneration unit, and significant conservation efforts, Jiminy Peak can offset 90 percent of its energy consumption with renewable sources. More. SAM
Ski Sunlight Wraps Up Work on New Improvements. Skiers and riders at Colorado’s Sunlight Mountain Resort will be greeted by a number of improvements for the 2015-16 season including expanded food and beverage concessions, a major renovation to the Sunlight Lodge Bed & Breakfast, several on-mountain maintenance projects, and a new website set to launch in the weeks to come. More. First Tracks!!
Whistler Fights Rival Ski Resort at Garibaldi. Major players at Whistler are going flat out trying to kill a proposed four-season resort that would open a major ski hill 35 minutes closer to Vancouver. Whistler Blackcomb, the resort municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and others are fiercely lobbying the province’s environmental assessment office to reject the Garibaldi at Squamish proposal, arguing it’s a poor area for skiing and would end up hurting the corridor’s reputation. A decision is expected this fall. More. Victoria B.C. Times Colonist via Destimetrics
